July 3, 2012
by legitgov

2009 swine flu outbreak was 15 times deadlier: study 26 Jun 2012 The swine flu pandemic of 2009 killed an estimated 284,500 people, some 15 times the number confirmed by laboratory tests at the time, according to a new study by an international group of scientists. The study, published on Tuesday in the London-based journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, said the toll might have been even higher - as many as 579,000 people. The original count, compiled by the World Health Organization, put the number at 18,500.

July 3, 2012
by legitgov

China reports bird flu outbreak --Outbreak occurred June 20 but was confirmed as H5N1 bird flu Monday - Ministry 03 Jul 2012 Authorities in China's remote northwestern region of Xinjiang have culled more than 150,000 chickens following an outbreak of bird flu, officials said. The outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian flu initially killed 1,600 chickens and sickened about 5,500, the agriculture ministry said late Monday. In an effort to contain the disease, agricultural authorities quarantined the area and culled 156,439 chickens, according to the ministry.

July 3, 2012
by legitgov

Bird flu outbreak hits chicken farms in Mexico 02 Jul 2012 An outbreak of avian flu in western Mexico has killed at least 870,000 poultry birds since its detection last month but poses no threat to humans, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. The H7N3 flu was detected in two municipalities in the state of Jalisco, Mexico's largest chicken farming region, and authorities have been working quickly to contain the outbreak, a statement from the ministry said. As a cautionary measure, authorities declared a national animal health emergency on Monday. The ministry has ordered vaccinations from Asia and is also developing their own drugs domestically to combat the flu.

July 3, 2012
by legitgov

Court orders Twitter to hand over Occupy Wall Street protester's messages 02 Jul 2012 A New York court is ordering Twitter to hand over a host of user Tweets as they wage into uncharted legal waters while dealing with the arrest of an Occupy Wall Street protester. Malcolm Harris was one of the 700 protestors arrested in October after taking over much of the Brooklyn Bridge during the high point in the financial inequality protests. District attorneys petitioned the judge of the case to order the social media company to hand over Mr Harris's tweets for the days surrounding the arrest because they argue that the messages will show whether or not Mr Harris was willfully disregarding police orders at the time of his arrest.

July 3, 2012
by legitgov

US court orders Twitter to hand over Occupy tweets 02 Jul 2012 A New York judge Monday ordered Twitter to turn over data on one of its users involved in the Occupy Wall Street protest movement, in a case watched closely as a test of online freedom of speech. Manhattan criminal court Judge Matthew Sciarrino ruled that law enforcement had the right to see tweets and other user data from Malcolm Harris, who is being prosecuted for disorderly conduct in connection with the Occupy Wall Street protest on the Brooklyn Bridge last year. The judge said that the tweets are not private information and thus not subject to the constitutional guarantee of privacy.

July 3, 2012
by legitgov

Global warming: More than 2,000 heat records matched or broken 02 Jul 2012 More than 2,000 temperature records have been matched or broken in the past week as a brutal heat wave baked much of the United States, and June saw more than 3,200 records topped, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Monday. From June 25 to July 1, some 2,171 record temperatures were either broken or matched, the NOAA said. For the 30 days of June, that number rose to 3,215. Accuweather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said the number of records broken was very unusual.

July 2, 2012
by legitgov

Bomb Threat at UConn Law School 02 Jul 2012 UConn police investigating a bomb threat received today at University of Connecticut School of Law. There was also a bomb threat at the greater Hartford campus in West Hartford, but is all clear, school officials said. According to an alert on the school's website, UConn police have coordinated a response to the threat with the Connecticut State Police Emergency Services Unit. The campus will remain closed for the remainder of the day (July 2). All classes scheduled today and this evening are canceled.

July 2, 2012
by legitgov

U.S. building Afghanistan a new $92 million 'Pentagon' 01 Jul 2012 The United States is spending $92 million to build Afghanistan a new "Pentagon," a massive five-story military headquarters with domed roofs and a high-tech basement command center that will link Afghan generals with their troops. Even with American troops beginning their withdrawal, the U.S. government is still working its way through a $10 billion menu of construction projects. The United States is also building a $54 million Kabul headquarters for the Interior Ministry, which oversees the Afghan police, and a $102 million base for the military's 201st Corps in eastern Afghanistan. [See also: State Dept. planning to spend $115 million to 'upgrade' $700 million U.S. Embassy in Baghdad 27 Jun 2012. Sick of sociopaths draining the US Treasury for military contractors' blowjobs abroad? Start reading.]

July 2, 2012
by legitgov

US senator calls to prosecute Assange 02 Jul 2012 The head of the US Senate's powerful intelligence oversight committee has renewed calls for Julian Assange to be prosecuted for espionage. The US Justice Department has also confirmed WikiLeaks remains the target of an ongoing criminal investigation, calling into question Australian government claims that the US has no interest in extraditing Mr Assange. "I believe Mr Assange has knowingly obtained and disseminated classified information which could cause injury to the United States," the chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Dianne Feinstein, said in a written statement provided to the Herald.

July 2, 2012
by legitgov

Stratfor settles class-action over Anon megahack with freebies 29 Jun 2012 Stratfor has agreed to forgo $1.75m in income to settle a class action lawsuit arising from a high-profile hack by hacktivist group Anonymous against the global intelligence firm's systems last December. Anonymous-affiliated hackers broke into Stratfor's systems in the run-up to Christmas last year before publishing hundreds of thousands of email addresses belonging to subscribers along with an estimated 4,000 customer credit records. Stratfor's website was also thrashed during the attack, which allowed hackers to extract confidential internal emails, which soon found their way onto WikiLeaks.

July 1, 2012
by legitgov

Fresh call on Assange 'espionage' 02 Jul 2012 The head of the United States Senate's powerful intelligence oversight committee has renewed calls for Julian Assange to be prosecuted for espionage. The US Justice Department has also confirmed WikiLeaks remains the target of a criminal investigation, calling into question Australian government claims the US has no interest in extraditing Mr Assange. "Mr Assange should be prosecuted under the Espionage Act [of 1917]," the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Californian Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, said in a written statement provided to The Age.

July 1, 2012
by legitgov

Heads up! Fertile false flag ground cultivated as D.C. to be in the dark for days: Power outages drag on in D.C. region; officials fuming at utility companies 01 Jul 2012 With much of Montgomery County still without power and ongoing 911 problems continuing across Northern Virginia on Sunday afternoon, local officials vowed to press utilities to restore service more quickly. "I will not accept the timetable of July the 6th," said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), shortly after Pepco announced some homes would not have their power restored until Friday or even later. "I don't ever remember 911 system going down, and it happened exactly at the time when we needed it most," said Sharon Bulova, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

July 1, 2012
by legitgov

Tab for alternate Afghan supply route hits $2.1 billion 30 Jun 2012 Pakistan's refusal to let NATO access its ports and roads into Afghanistan has cost the Pentagon more than $2.1 billion in extra transportation costs to move supplies and equipment in and out of the country. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the Senate Appropriations Committee in mid-June that the closure of the Pakistani routes was costing the U.S. military about an extra $100 million per month. These new costs were disclosed in a Pentagon budget document - called the omnibus reprogramming request - sent to Congress on Friday.

July 1, 2012
by legitgov

Britons protest Olympic missiles scheme in east London 30 Jun 2012 Britons residing in East London have staged a demonstration to stress their opposition to the government's plans to install surface-to-air missiles on rooftops for added security during the Olympics. According to campaigners, more than 1,000 people signed a petition to censure the government's scheme to install surface-to-air missiles on at least six sites, some of them in residential districts including Bow and Leytonstone. The Ministry of Defence said the safety of the Games was paramount and a "broad range of community engagement" had taken place.

July 1, 2012
by legitgov

Guantanamo brings in Canadian lit prof to 'rehabilitate' Omar Khadr 27 Jun 2012 In an unexpected turn of events this spring, an Edmonton professor, armed with novels and lesson plans, headed to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay to meet with Canadian convicted 'terrorist' Omar Khadr. In a rare move, the U.S. authorities opened the prison door to King's University professor Arlette Zinck in late April as part of an effort to rehabilitate Khadr. Khadr was chained to the floor during the lessons, which took place in a small interview room with military personnel present, said Zinck. He read Obasan, a fictional story based on the internment of Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War, and he "got to the heart of that story," said Zinck.

June 30, 2012
by legitgov

Terrorists 'R Us: Footage shows US Marine vehicles destroying Afghans' homes 30 Jun 2012 New video footage has been released showing US Marine vehicles destroying Afghan property in the residential areas in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. The footage demonstrates Assault Breacher Vehicles in 2011 demolishing Afghan property under the excuse of clearing the pathways for troops and vehicles through the minefields... However, the images taken during the operation show the US Marine vehicles were opening new routes through residential areas.

June 30, 2012
by legitgov

Fukushima reactor cooling system suspended: Kyodo --Temperature of pool rose 0.26 C per hour by late Saturday afternoon 30 Jun 2012 The cooling system for the spent fuel pool at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant's No. 4 reactor automatically suspended operation Saturday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said, Kyodo News reported Saturday. Tepco has been unable to activate a backup cooling system for the pool and is looking into the cause of the trouble, officials of the plant operator said later in the day. If Tepco continues to be unable to cool the pool, the temperature could reach 65 C, which is the upper limit designated in the safety regulations, on Tuesday morning.

June 30, 2012
by legitgov

Millions lose power in storms as triple-digit temps continue --15 deaths tied to storms, heat 30 Jun 2012 With more triple-digit heat in the forecast, millions of people in the Mid-Atlantic area were without power on Saturday after violent storms with 80-mph gusts toppled trees, cut power lines and killed six people in Virginia alone... It should top 100 degrees in areas across 25 states, a heat scenario impacting 47 million people, the Weather Channel reported. The storms cut power more than 2 million homes and businesses across the Mid-Atlantic area -- including 1.5 million in the Washington, D.C., area, NBCWashington.com reported.

June 30, 2012
by legitgov

Journalist training undercover as security guard for London Olympics with private security firm G4S --Drones to patrol London skies; 200,000 casket linings delivered from US 22 Jun 2012 (BCfm.org.uk) Exclusive interview with investigative journalist Lee Hazledean who is training undercover as a security guard for the London Olympics with private security firm G4S. Lee is a filmmaker and investigative TV journalist... There are plans for the evacuation of London. G4S is going to be at the forefront, as well as 100,000 troops coming in via Woolwich barracks made up of regular British Forces, American regular army and European troops. The troops are being held across London in various barracks once they've been through Woolwich... There is also a shipment of what are described as casket linings. Each casket can hold four or five people and 200,000 casket linings have been delivered, we believe, from America... We were shown videos of drones attacking targets in Afghanistan and were told that drones will be patrolling the sky's over London during the Olympics carrying out surveillance and search and destroy missions, if necessary.

June 30, 2012
by legitgov

As Assange awaits asylum answer, US demands separate extradition from Sweden 29 Jun 2012 While the future of Julian Assange remains unknown to just about everyone - including Swedish prosecutors demanding his extradition, American investigators asking questions about his role with WikiLeaks, his family in Australia and the government of Ecuador where he is seeking asylum - America is already asking for Sweden to send over someone else for them to scold. David Hemler, the 49-year-old US Air Force vet who went AWOL nearly 30 years ago, might soon be sent from Sweden to the States... Only a few days after disclosing his dark secret, the US is already asking questions to Helmer.

June 30, 2012
by legitgov

Assange refuses to surrender 30 Jun 2012 Julian Assange has defied a police order to turn himself in and will remain holed up in Ecuador's embassy, his spokeswoman said. Mr Assange, who has applied for asylum in Ecuador, was served notice to surrender himself to a central London police station, but has decided not to comply, a spokeswoman for the WikiLeaks founder said. "Julian will remain in the embassy under the protection of the Ecuadorian government," Susan Benn of the Julian Assange Defence Fund told reporters outside the embassy in central London.

June 30, 2012
by legitgov

Obama signs stop-gap highway, student loan bill 29 Jun 2012 President Barack Obama has signed a short-term bill that avoids interest rate increases on new loans to millions of college students and maintains jobs on transportation projects across the nation. Obama signed a one-week extension of the measure to give time for the full legislation, approved Friday by Congress, to reach his desk. The president is expected to sign the full law in the coming days. The bill allows more than $100 billion to be spent on highway, mass transit and other transportation programs during the next two years. Those projects would have expired Saturday.

June 30, 2012
by legitgov

In Tokyo, Thousands Protest the Restarting of a Nuclear Power Plant 30 Jun 2012 Shouting antinuclear slogans and beating drums, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the Japanese prime minister’s residence on Friday in the largest display yet of public anger at the government's decision to restart a nuclear power plant. The crowd, including women with small children and men in suits coming from work, chanted "No more Fukushimas!" as it filled the broad boulevards near the residence and the national Parliament building, which were cordoned off by the police.

June 29, 2012
by legitgov

Taliban releases video showing 17 beheaded Pakistani army men 28 Jun 2012 Taliban militants have released a video showing 17 human heads which they claim are of Pakistani soldiers captured in a cross-border raid from Afghanistan early this week. The gory video was obtained by the AP news wire service in which the Pakistani Taliban claimed that they have killed 18 soldiers. The Pakistani military had previously said that 13 of its men were killed in the raid and seven of them were beheaded.

June 29, 2012
by legitgov

Army Battalion Commander Killed in Fort Bragg Shooting 29 Jun 2012 A U.S. Army battalion commander was killed by a fellow soldier on Thursday in a shooting incident at Fort Bragg, N.C. The alleged gunman then shot himself and is in custody; a third soldier was slightly injured in the shooting. An Army statement said the shooting victim belonged to the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. A battalion is a subordinate command within a brigade and is commanded by a lieutenant colonel.

June 29, 2012
by legitgov

Soldier held in Ft. Bragg shooting that killed 1 29 Jun 2012 Officials said one soldier was fatally shot and two others wounded Thursday at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina. Ft. Bragg Public Affairs Officer Col. Kevin Arata said a soldier from the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade shot another member of the unit, then shot and wounded himself Thursday afternoon. He said a third soldier also was wounded. Arata said the shooter had been taken into custody and that no motive had been determined.

June 29, 2012
by legitgov

Julian Assange told to turn himself in at London police station --WikiLeaks founder seeking political asylum inside Ecuador's London embassy is served with surrender notice 28 Jun 2012 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been served with a police letter saying he has to present himself to a London police station on Friday, according to sources. A spokesman for the Metropolitan police service said: "The MPS have this morning, Thursday 28 June, served a surrender notice upon a 40-year-old man that requires him to attend a police station at a date and time of our choosing. This is standard practice in extradition cases and is the first step in the removal process." He said Assange remained in breach of his bail conditions, adding: "Failing to surrender would be a further breach of conditions and he is liable to arrest."

June 29, 2012
by legitgov

Julian Assange will 'almost certainly' ignore surrender notice ordering him to police station as he spends 9th day holed up in Ecuadorian Embassy --WikiLeaks founder claims he will ignore note as 'asylum law takes precedence over extradition law' 28 Jun 2012 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said he will 'almost certainly' ignore a surrender notice issued to him by Scotland Yard. Assange has been inside the Embassy of Ecuador in London for nine days since seeking political asylum as part of his bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about alleged sex offences. Assange told the BBC's Newsnight programme that he will not be heeding the note delivered by officers from the Metropolitan Police yesterday morning, telling him to attend Belgravia police station at 11.30am today.

June 29, 2012
by legitgov

Michael Savage: Roberts Epilepsy Medication Affects His Cognition [Only on certain decisions, though, right?] 28 Jun 2012 "Let's talk about Roberts. I'm going to tell you something that you're not going to hear anywhere else, that you must pay attention to. It's well known that Roberts, unfortunately for him, has suffered from epileptic seizures. Therefore he has been on medication. Therefore neurologists will tell you that medication used for seizure disorders, such as epilepsy, can introduce mental slowing, forgetfulness and other cognitive problems. And if you look at Roberts' writings you can the cognitive disassociation in what he is saying," Michael Savage said on his radio program this evening. (Video, if you can endure it)

Arming the Left: Is the time now? By Charles Southwell 21 Oct 2003 As long as we pose no REAL threat to the powers-that-be, to what is shaping up into [is] a dictatorship, we will continue to be ignored. Right now, we are ignored because we present no organized power to fight this onslaught of anti-democratic, totalitarian government that we are up against...